Tomorrow is the national conference of Stop the War coalition in London and has an impressive line up of speakers and workshops. Several of us will be attending as Green Party national delegates. With the news last night of the advance of the Pakistani Taliban to within 70 miles of the capital Islamabad, things are beginning to look very serious in what the US military planners refer to as AFPAK (Afghanistan and Pakistan).
On Channel 4 News last night the former Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK stated that the future of Pakistan stood in the balance. Clinton, the US Secretary of State, also denounced the Pakistani government for allowing the Swat valley to fall under the Taliban, and Channel 4's Diplomatic Correspondent said that the next target of the Taliban was the province of Punjab. If they take Punjab, then it is likely that Pakistan will enter into a civil war and alarm bells will ring in both London and Washington.
All of this is stemming from the unstable situation in the region and the ongoing war in Afghanistan, which has been in train for 8 years now. I am going next week to see a very interesting trilogy of plays on Afghanistan and its history at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn entitled 'The Great Game'. The introduction to the season below is a good starter for anyone following events in this region and how they will impact on us and the West in general. We are, after all, being implored as Europeans, to send more troops to support NATO's efforts there. It is our forces and our taxes which are feeding the war there and which may lead to a massive conflagration across the whole region.
The Great Game: Afghanistan
The aim of this festival is to explore Afghan culture and history. Afghanistan is likely to be the most important focus of British, European and American foreign policy for the rest of this decade, and for many years to come. Through these plays, exhibitions and films it is hoped that audiences will more fully understand how this policy has evolved; and through debate and discussion lessons from the past can be used to better inform action for the future.
“The Great Game” was a term used for the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second less intensive phase followed. The Term “The Great Game” was introduced into mainstream consciousness by British novelist Rudyard Kipling in his novel ‘Kim’ (1901).
The aim of this festival is to explore Afghan culture and history. Afghanistan is likely to be the most important focus of British, European and American foreign policy for the rest of this decade, and for many years to come. Through these plays, exhibitions and films it is hoped that audiences will more fully understand how this policy has evolved; and through debate and discussion lessons from the past can be used to better inform action for the future.
“The Great Game” was a term used for the strategic rivalry and conflict between the British Empire and the Russian Empire for supremacy in Central Asia. The classic Great Game period is generally regarded as running approximately from the Russo-Persian Treaty of 1813 to the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907. Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 a second less intensive phase followed. The Term “The Great Game” was introduced into mainstream consciousness by British novelist Rudyard Kipling in his novel ‘Kim’ (1901).
Speakers at the Stop the War conference will include Craig Murray, the former UK Ambassador to Uzbekhistan, Tony Benn * Karma Nabulsi * Ken Loach *
George Galloway MP * Rose Gentle * Seumas Milne * Daud
Abdullah * Jeremy Corbyn MP and Lindsey German
SESSIONS: * Barack Obama and the War on Terror introduced by
Tony Benn, * Troops out of Afghanistan with Rose Gentle and
others, * Palestine with Karma Nabulsi and others, * Muslims
and Civil Liberties with George Galloway MP and others, * Iraq
Briefing with Sami Ramadami, * Building the Stop the War
movement
South Camden Community School
Charrington Street, London, NW1 1RG
Saturday 25 April: 10.00am to 5.00pm.
George Galloway MP * Rose Gentle * Seumas Milne * Daud
Abdullah * Jeremy Corbyn MP and Lindsey German
SESSIONS: * Barack Obama and the War on Terror introduced by
Tony Benn, * Troops out of Afghanistan with Rose Gentle and
others, * Palestine with Karma Nabulsi and others, * Muslims
and Civil Liberties with George Galloway MP and others, * Iraq
Briefing with Sami Ramadami, * Building the Stop the War
movement
South Camden Community School
Charrington Street, London, NW1 1RG
Saturday 25 April: 10.00am to 5.00pm.
The conference is open to any member of STWC.
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